Apparatus for slitting metal sheets



July 21, 1931. T. A. SINDELAR 1,815,487

APPARATUS FOR SLITTING METAL SHEETS Filed April 15, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet l gwuzntoz Thomas A. SZndelaW July 21, 1931. T, A, SWDELAR 1,815,487

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T/z'om A. Sindezap T. A. SINDELAR APPARATUS FOR SLIT'IING METAL SHEETS July 21, 1931.

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Filed April 13. 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 3 Hum 1 Tot Tfzommstl. \S ZMIQIP affozuu July 21, 1931. T. A. SINDELAR 1,315,487.

APPARATUS FOR SLITTING METAL SHEETS Filed April 13, 1928 6 sheets-Sheet 5 I& I V I I I l I 46 54 .r I 5 w Iii i i! ||II '[l I I five-1140a 7 ZfiomansA.

July 21, 1931. slNDELAR 1,815,487

APPARATUS FOR SLITTING METAL SHEETS Filed April 15. 1928 e sheets-sheet 6' Eyj 51 17 3 non! fox 78 i" TlaomasA.Szbde1dr Patented July 21, 1931 PATENT OFFICE THOMAS A. SINDELAR, F CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO REPUBLIC STEEL CORPORATION, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY APPARATUS FOR SLITTING METAL SHEETS Application filed A ril 13,

This invention relates to apparatus for slitting metal sheets for the purpose of forming expanded metal lath of the herringbone type, as shown for example, in Figs. and

6 of Clark PatentfNo. 930,350, and 'Fig. 5

apparatus of the type described in Clark Patents, Nos. 1,146,554; 1,224,523; and

The simplest and most desirable method of expanding metal lath of this type consisting briefly in gripping the opposite marginal edges or selvages of the slitted sheet between suitable clamping members, and pulling these edges laterally in opposite direcwill become more readily apparent in the tions. This method has, however, proved unsatisfactory when used in connection with metal sheets slitted by means of the apparatus described in the aforesaid Clark patents, owing to the inability to secure a uniform expansion of all of the slitted areas, and a resultant uniform spacing of the ribs or tension members.

It is the primary object of the present in vention to overcome the above stated difliculties, and produce a slitted metal sheet, which may be readily expanded in the manner described, and which, after expansion, shall be characterized by uniformly expanded areas ,and uniformly spaced ribs or tension members.

To this end, the invention consists more specifically in the provision of slitting apparatus which shall produce a slitted sheet capable of being readily and uniformly expanded in-the manner described.

These and other objects of the invention course of the following description of the invention, taken in connection'with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a slitting machine embodying the novel features of the present inventlon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the slitting machine; Fig. 3 is a cross section through the ma- 1928. Serial No. 269,820.

chine, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and showing the lower die mechanism in place on the bed of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the die .assem bly with portions of the upper and lower stripper plates removed to more clearly show the arrangement of the die cutters and spacers;

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the punch assembly;

Fig. 6 is. a longitudinal cross-section through the die and pnch assemblies, the section through-the die assembly being taken on the line 66- of Fig. 4, and the section through the punch assembly being taken on the line. 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a transverse cross-section through the die and punch assemblies, and the entrance guide and rolls associated therewith, the section through the die assembly being taken on the line,77 of Fig. 4, the section through the punch assembly being taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5, and the section through the entrance guides and rolls being taken on the line 77 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is an isometric view of one of the cutters; I

Fig. 9 is an isometric view of one of the spacers; I

Fig. 10 is a plan View. of a portion of a metal sheet slitted in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross-section through a portion of the slitted sheet, taken on the line 1111 of Fig. 10;

Figs. 11a and 116 are greatly enlarged details taken at the points a and b respectively in Fig. 11; I

\ Fig. 12 is a cross-section through a portion of the slitted sheet, taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 10;

I Fig. 13 is a cross-section through a portion of the slitted sheet, takenon the line 1313 of Fig. 10; I

Fig. 14 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the slitted sheet after being fully expanded;

Fig. 15 is a cross-section through the expanded sheet, taken on the 'line 15-15 of Fig. 14;

Figs. 15a and 15?) are enlarged detail views taken at the points a and b respectively in Fig. 15;

Fig. 16 is an enlarged detail view through the expanded sheet, taken on the line 16-16 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is an enlarged detail view through the expanded sheet, taken on the line 1717 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 18 is an elevation of upper exit roll 10, showing the manner in which the roll is relieved or recessed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 is a base on which the bed 2 of the slitting machine is supported. The bed 2 is provided at its sides with upright posts 3 and 4, and mounted in suitable bearings in the upper ends of these posts is a crank-shaft 5, which carries a vertically reciprocating head 6. The stationary die assembly, indicated generally at A, is supported upon the bed 2 of the machine, while the movable punch assembly, indicated generally at B, is carried upon the lower face 7 of the head 6.

In slitting machines of this. type, it is customarv to intermittently feed a metal sheet of suitable width into the machine by means of entrance rolls 8 and 9, and to form successive transverse rows of slits in the sheet by means of the die and punch assemblies A and B. The passage of the slitted sheet out of the machine is accomplished by means of exit rolls 10 and 11. In the present embodiment of the invention, the surface of roll 10 is preferably provided with annular recesses 1011, as. shown in Fig. 18, these recesses being, spaced at intervals to correspond with the slitted areas, so as to avoid flattening the sheet after the slitting operations, to be presently described.

For the purpose of causing the metal sheet to be fed forward a predetermined amount or distance after each row of slits is formed, the following mechanism is employed:

One end of a connecting rod 12 is eccentrically mounted on one end of the crank shaft 5, and is pivotally connected at its opposite end to a rocker arm 13, which oscillates upon a thimble 14, the latter being in turn revolubly mounted on a stationary stub shaft 15. Keyed to each other and to the inner end of the thimble 14, are a ratchet 16, and a drive gear 17 Pawls 18, pivotally mounted'on the ends of the rocker arm 13, are normally held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 16 by means of a coil spring 19. The teeth of the drive gear 17 are normally in mesh with the teeth of roll drive gears 20 and 21, and

these in turn are keyed to the shafts of the lower entrance and exit rolls 9 and 11. The upper rolls 8 and 10 are driven by means of the roll drive ears 20 and 21 through the intermediary of roll gears 22, and it will be apparent that upon each upward stroke of the head 6, the entrance and exit rolls will feed the metal sheet forward a predetermined amount. Excessive noise, incident to the striking of pawls 18 against the teeth of the ratchet 16 is eliminated to a greatextent by providing the ratchetwith an inset ring 23 of a non-metallic laminated product of specially treated'woven fabric, such as micarta.

The stationary die assembly A comprises a 'die shoe 24 which is properly positioned on the bed 2 of the machine by means of locating blocks 25, and is secured to the bed of the machine by cap screws 26 and clamp 27, the latter being in turn-secured to the bed of the machine bycap screws 28.

The die shoe 24 has formed therein a recess- 29 in which die holder 30 rests, the die holder being properly positioned by means of adjusting screws 31, and being secured to the die shoe by means of screws 32 and dowel pins 33. Parallel rows of die cutters 34, separated from each other by spacers 35, are positioned in the die'holder 30 by means of end spacers 36, which are secured to the die holder by screws 37.

The die cutters 34 are secured to the die holder 30 by means of screws 38, and the spacers are secured to the die holder by'screws 39.

The die cutters 34 are formed with a single cutting edge 40, which is divided into three parts of equal length by vertically extending grooves 41. The non-cutting edges 42 of the cutters are beveled at an angle of approximately 15 degrees to prevent cutting contact with the punch cutters, to be presently described.

In the present embodiment of the inven' tion, the die cutters are arranged in two parallel rows, in such manner that the cutting edges of the cutters in each row are parallel with each other, but are arranged in echelon with respect to the cutting edges of the cutters in the adjacent row. The cutting edges of the cutters in one row are also inclined in the oppositd direction with respect to the cutting edges of the cutters in the adjacent row.

The punch shoe 43 is secured to the lower face 7 of the vertically reciprocating head 6, by means of cap screws 44, and the punch outters 45 and spacers 46 are secured thereon in the same manner that the die cutters and spacers are secured on the die shoe. The construction of the punch cutters is identical with that of the die cutters, and they are arranged similarly thereto, and in such manner that the cutting edges of the punch cutters cooperate with the cutting edges of the die cutters to produce slits in a metal sheet by a shearing action, as will be presently described.

The reciprocating movement of the punch assembly is fixed with respect to the die assembly' by means of guide pins 47 which are secured to the die shoe 24, and are guided in bushings 48 in the punch shoe 43.

For the purpose of eliminating lateral wear of the punch assembly at the instant of cutting (occasioned by the fact that the cutting edges of the punch cutters are all towards one end of the punch assembly), wear plate.

plates 49 and 50 are provided on the die and punch shoes respectively, these wear plates being preferably made of hardened tool steel.

To'facilitate the separation of the slitted sheet from the punch and die cutters, a movablestripper plate 51 and a stationary stripper plate 52 are provided. The movable stripper plate 51 has formed therein openings 53 slightly larger than the die cutters, to permit free vertical movement of the stripper The plate is guided in its vertical movement by pins 54, secured to the die shoe 24. Screws 55 are secured to the movable .stripper plate and the lower ends of these screws rest upon spring pins 56 having enlarged lower heads 57 which rest in turn on compression coil springs 58, the tension. of which is adjusted by means of screw plugs 59.

The stationary stripper plate 52 is provided with openings 60, slightly larger than the punch cutters, .to permit free vertical movement of the punch cutters therethrough. The stationary plate is secured to the upper ends of the pins 54, and is spaced from the movable stripper plate sufficiently to permit free movement of the slitted sheet therebetween.

The stripper plates 51 and 52 are beveled at one side as at 61 and 62 to form a groove for the reception of the inner end of an entrance guide 63. The entrance guide consists of two parallel spaced plates 64 and 65, secured to each other by means of shoulder rivets or the like. The outer end of the upper plate 64 is notched to form short straps, 66 which are curved to fit into annular grooves 67 in the up per entrance roll 8, and the inner end of the plate has secured thereto a Z-bar 68 which rests on the stationary stripper plate 52.

The outer end of the lower guide plate 65 is notched to form short straps 69 which are curved to fit into annular grooves 70 in the lower entrance roll 9, and the straps at the extreme ends are secured as by welding to collars 71 positioned in the grooves, the collars being free to turn on the roll.

The upper and lower stripper plates are occasionally adjusted vertically to compensate for grinding of the punch and die cutters, and in making these adjustments, the inner end of the entrance guide follows the movement of the stationary stripper plate. The entrance guide is thus at all times in alignment with the stripper plates.

In theoperation of the machine, a metal sheet S of predetermined width is fed into the entrance guide 63 and between the stripper plates 51 and 52. The arrangement of the cutting edges of the cutters in the row of punch and die cutters which is nearest the entrance guide is such as to slit a series of parallel expansible sections 72. Each of these slitted sections consists of parallel rows of strands 73 all inclined in the same direction with respect to the direction of feed of the sheet. As the sheet is advanced, the adjacent row of punch and die cutters comes 1nto .ac-

tion, the arrangement of the cutting edges of The adjacent strands in each section are connected together at a plurality of points by means of bonds 7 6 and 77, and the punch and die cutters are 'so arranged as to leave margins 78 att-he sides of the sheet, and unslitted connecting strips 79 between the sections 7 2 and 74s. 7

As clearly shown in Figs. 11, 11a, and 12, each successive strand (considered in the direction of feed of the sheet, as indicated by arrow C in Fig. 10), is depressed below the plane of the preceding strand, so that the contiguous edges 80 and 81 of each strand will not pass by or interfere with each other when the areas 74 are later expanded, these edges having a natural tendency to move away from each other during the expansion of the sheet.

As clearly shown in Fig. 11, 11b, and 13, each successive strand 73 (considered in the direction of feed of the sheet, as indicated by arrow C in Fig. 10), is depressed below the plane of the next succeeding strand, so that the contiguous edges 82 and 83 of each strand will not pass by or interfere with each other .when the sections 72 are later expanded, these edges also having a natural tendency to move away from each other during the expansion of the sheet.

pendicular with the plane of the sheet as shown in Figs. 16 and 17, and the margins 78, unslitted strips '79, and bonds 76 and 77 automatically assume a position of approximately 45 degrees with the plane of the sheet, and lend rigidity to the finished product.

The finished lath is characterized by uniformly expanded areas united by uniformly spaced stiffening strips or ribs, and is admirably adapted for all purposes in which plaster economy is desired.

While I have shown and described one preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made from the details set forth, without departing from the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

1. In a metal slitting machine, the combination of an entrance roll and an entrance guide piv'otally secured on said roll.

2. In a metal slittingmachine, the combination of entrance rolls having annular grooves formed therein; and an entrance guide provided with straps resting in the grooves of said rolls.

3. In a metal slitting machine, the combination of a stripper plate, an entrance roll, and an entrance guide resting upon said roll and said plate.

4. In a metal slitting machine, two series of inclined die cutters, the cutters of each series being spaced apart transversely of the machine and the cutters of one series being spaced apart from the others longitudinally of the machine and inclined in reverse direction to the cutters of the other series and two series of punch cutterscoacting with the respective die cutters.

5. In a metal slitting machine, two series of inclined die cutters, the cutters of each series being spaced apart ,from each other transversely of the machine and the cutters of one series being spaced apart from those of the other series longitudinally of the machine and two series of punch cutters coacting with the die cutters, one series of punch cutters coacting with the frontedges of their die cutters and the other series of punch cutters coacting with the rear edges of their die cutters.

6. In a metal slitting machine, two rows of die cutters having their cutting edges inclined to thedirection of feed, and punch cutters coacting with the die cutters, a number of the punch cutters coacting with the front edges of their die cutters and the remainder of the punch cutters coacting with the rear edges of their die cutters.

7. In a metal slitting machine, two rows of die cutters having their cuttingedges inclined to the direction of feed and punch cutters coacting with the die cutters, one half of the punch cutters coacting with the front edges oftheir die-cutters and the other half of the punch cutters coacting with the rear edges of their die cutters.

8. In a metal slitting machine, two rows of die cutters each having an interrupted cutting edge inclined slightly to the direction of feed, said rows being at right angles to the direction of feed and spaced apart longitudinally, all of the cutters in each row being parallel to each other and inclined in a direction rev rse to the inclination of the cutters in the ther row, and rows of punch cutters coacting with the respective die cutters.

9. In a metal slitting machine, two rows of die cutters each having an interru ted cutting edge inclined slightly to the d1rec-' tion of feed, said rows being at right angles to the direction of feed and spaced apart longitudinally, all of the cutters in each row being parallel to each other and inclined in a direction reverse to the inclination of the cutters in the other row and rows of punch cutters coacting with the respective die cutters, and upper and lower stripper plates having passages for the punch and die cutters respectively.

10. In a metal slitting machine, a die holder provided with two parallel transverse recesses in its upper face, a plurality of parallel cutters arranged in each recess and each cutter having interrupted cutting edges inclined slightly to the direction of feed, the cutting edges of the cutters in one recess being inclined in the opposite direction to those of the cutters in the other recess and staggered with respect thereto and a punch holder with cutters coacting with the respective die cutters.

11. In a metal slitting machine, a plurality of die cutters in two rows in staggered relation, each cutter having its cutting edge inclined with respect to the direction of feed and all of the cutters facing toward one side of the machine but the edges of the cutters in one row being inclined opposite to those in the other row and punch cutters coacting with the die cutters.

12. In a metal slitting machine, a plurality of die cutters in two rows in staggered relation, each cutter having its cutting edge inclined with respect to the direction of feed and all of the cutters facing in the same general direction but the edges of the cutters in one row being inclined opposite to those in the other row and punch cutters coacting with the die cutters, and means for adjusting both rows of cutters independently.

13. In a metal slitting machine, two rows of die cutters, the cutters of each row having their cutting edges inclined to the. direction of feed of the material to be slitted, the cutting edges of the cutters in each row belng spaced apart from each other transversely of the machine, and the cutting edges of the cutters in one row being spaced apart from the cutting edges of the cutters in the other row longitudinally of the machine, and punch cutters having cutting edges coacting with the cutting edgesof the die cutters.

14. A structure as defined in clalm 13, in which the cutting edges of the cutters in one row are inclined in a direction reverse to the inclination of the cuttingedges of the cutters in the other row.

15. A structure as defined in claim 13, in which the cutting edges of the cutters in one row are staggered with respect to the cutting edges of the cutters in the other row.

16. A structure as defined in claim 13, in which all of the cutting edges of the die cutters face'toward one side of the machine.

. 17. In a metal slitting machine, two rows of die cutters having their cutting edges inclined to the direction of feed of the material to be slitted, the cutting edges of one row of die cutters facing toward the front of 5 the machine and the cutting edges of the other row of die cutters facing toward the rear of the machine, and punch cutters having cutting edges coacting with the cutting edges of the die cutters.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

THOMAS A. SINDELAR. 

